Tasco 302048 - Help!

Can some one post a manual for the [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/tasco-brand.html]Tasco[/link] 302048, I purchased one but no manual. I was also wondering how to put it together and how many parts there are because I think I might be missing one to attach the lenses. I do have the angled one, two longer black lenses and 2 smaller ones in containers. I do have one part that has a screw to attach the angled one but should there be another part with a screw?

You place the one of the eyepieces in the erecting prism or barlow and that determines your magnification. However, the SR4mm will never give you a clear view since, 1) that is a very low grade eyepiece and 2) it produces far too much magnification for such a small scope. Use one of the other eyepieces.

If you are still having issues with your scope, you may find it very helpful to contact a local astronomy club. Nothing beats some hands on help at the [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/link] and most astronomers are more than willing to help a beginner.

Right now, the planet Jupiter is very right in the southern sky in the evening.

How many pieces does the erecting eyepiece has? coz i have two i guess... i'll upload a photo of it, besides that, today i was trying to fix Venus i guess i tried the SR=4mm gave me augmented magnification, BUT still couldn't get it clearly, if its not Venus then i don't know what's it, but MARS i'm 100% sure it's not. Have you been able to [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/watches.html]watch[/link] something else, maybe Saturn or Jupiter as the owner manual says?

What's the eyepiece meant for?!

Thanks for the quick answer you rock!!

the erecting eyepiece:
[url=http://img842.imageshack.us/i/dsc05125h.jpg/][img]http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8922/dsc05125h.th.jpg[/img][/url]

barlow lens:
[url=http://img830.imageshack.us/i/dsc05119w.jpg/][img]http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/3303/dsc05119w.th.jpg[/img][/url]

SR=4mm:
[url=http://img508.imageshack.us/i/dsc05124b.jpg/][img]http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1479/dsc05124b.th.jpg[/img][/url]

The 12.5mm:
[url=http://img828.imageshack.us/i/dsc05121b.jpg/][img]http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/2131/dsc05121b.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Hi

Not sure what you have as far as an erecting lens, but that is something designed for day use, not astronomy, anyway. Ignore it for astronomy.

Your diagonal always goes into the scope, first, then the barlow into the diagonal and, lastly, the eyepiece into the barlow. However, using a barlow with anything but your low power eyepiece will give you more magnification than your little 60mm scope can probably use. Be careful when using a barlow with any small telescope

There are plenty of websites on the internet that have astronomical info as to the location of the planets on a weekly basis. Try Sky&[link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]Telescope[/link] and Astronomy.com or one of the many other sites.

Hi i'm kinda new afficionate to astronomy, got my old [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/tasco-brand.html]TASCO[/link] [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]Telescope[/link], but i have no idea how to locate objects larger/brighter than the moon, venus and mars (BTW haven't identified neither of the last). So my question is as follows:

The erecting eyepiece has a small "lens" attached to it, how do i mount it because in my case it's "loosen" so i'll have to disassemble the lens from the eyepiece just to make it FIT :/

The other question is: the owner's manual says that i can even see saturn and it's rings, also jupiter, is this true?if it is, how do i locate them, and what should be the mounting order to get them on sight?.

What lens/eyepiece configuration do i need to clearly see mars or venus? Can i see the moon tidier than with the diagonal + 12.5?

Another important thing I live in SouthAmerica, in Chile to be precise, so i have a -4 UTC right now it's 1:30 am, we're in spring, and Santiago's coordinates are 33º27' S, 70º42' W.

Last but not least, where do i found a star dome/star chart/map, for my location, in advance thanks very much!!


Gustavo

Hi

Glad to help.

Magnification has much less to do with astronomy than beginners think. Astronomy is more about seeing faint objects, not about magnifying them and seeing faint objects is more about [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/url] aperture, in terms of mirror or objective size, rather than magnification.

"Maximum useable magnification" listings by manufacturers are basically advertising nonsense. Anyone who claims 450x for a 50mm [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/url] has never done any astronomy or is trying to take your money. Ignore them. The amount of magnification you use will depend on the type of object being observed, observing conditions, the size and quality of your scope, your observing experience as well as your personal preferences. There is no magic formula for magnification options that translates into anything concrete. As close as you'll come is the 20-30x rule for each inch of aperture under average observing conditions and as high as 50x for each inch under ideal conditions and, even then, only for certain types of objects. This means you'll want to keep your 50mm [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/url] under 100x for best images.

Yes, get out and see the eclipse. You can certainly use your telescope, but my favorite lunar eclipse optic is a [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/binoculars.html]binocular[/url]. Just keep the magnification down for best views.

well I know how ewfetzer1 felt. My wife and I just purchased the same [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/url] from goodwill for $20. But we know nothing of astronomy yet. Everything seems to be there, but the lenses will have to be cleaned. Anyway, the website you provided helped me out quite a lot. Neat thing is, we bought the [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescopes.html]telescope[/url] today, then learned that there is a lunar eclipse tomorrow night. So we are hoping to use it for that. One question I had, was some websites are showing 450x for power or 50mm lenses. Is there a chart somewhere that I can correlate between the two?

Hi

First, here is a link to an article I have written for new telescope owners. Hope it helps, http://www.opticsplanet.com/telescope-faq.html

The L shaped piece is your diagonal. Insert it into the focuser first. Use this for astronomy. Without it, you will not get the moon or other objects to focus. (For day use, you'll use the erect image diagonal.)

Always start out observing with the lowest power eyepiece. This is the eyepiece marked with the BIGGEST number. the H12.5. (12.5mm is the focal length of the eyepiece, not magnification.

A barlow increases the magnification of any eyepiece used with it. Use it only with the 12.5. Using it with the 4mm will produce too much magnification and degrade the image. The barlow goes into the diagonal first, then the eyepiece inside the barlow.

You need to adjust your finderscope. Look at a distant object by day through the telescope, then adjust the finderscope until it sees the same object.

Let us know how you are doing.

I was recently given a telescope. The only name and info I have is as follows:
Tasco 302048
D=60mm F=700mm
Coated Optics
Made In China.

The telescope also came with several accessories; a L shaped piece with a mirror in it; a 2.3x Barlow lens; a 1.5xErecting Eyepiece; and two other things that appear to be eyepieces, a SR4mm and a H12.5mm.
I am a novice with telescopes. While I have used spotting scopes I have never used a telescope. I am very interested in learning. At the expense of sounding stupid, I have several questions.
1- In what order should the accessories be attached to the telescope? I have for example attached the 2.3xBarlow lens, and to that the SR4mm. Is this the correct way?
2- When I look through the finderscope everything is upsidedown. I suppose for celestial objects this is okey. What about objects like far away buildings.
3-When I look through the finderscope, I can see something such as the moon for example, but when I look through the telescope all I see is bright light or nothing at all. Turning the knobs to adjust the focus does not make any difference. What is wrong?
I figure that this is all probably operator error. Please help.